[2] He was named Divisional General of the Beylical army when he became Bey al-Mahalla (Heir Apparent) on 11 June 1902, and assumed the rank of Marshal when he succeeded Muhammad IV al-Hadi on 11 May 1906.

Shortly before he succeeded as Bey, the Thala-Kasserine Disturbances broke out[4] and a few years later the discontent escalated to include major incidents such as the Jellaz Affair and the Tunis Tram Boycott.

The French managed to secure from him a decree expelling the leaders of the Tunisian national movement, Ali Bach Hamba, Hassan Guelati, Mohamed Nomane and Abdelaziz Thâalbi from the country in March 1912.

[5] Increasingly dissatisfied with the way the authorities were treating the Destour, in April 1922 he threatened to abdicate if France did not meet their demands, including the repeal of French laws on naturalisation.

In response, the French Resident General Lucien Saint surrounded the Bey's palace with troops in order to put pressure on him not to do so.